James l farmer jr biography

Farmer studied much of Gandhi's philosophies and would apply the leader's ideas of nonviolent civil resistance to U. Opting not to forge a career in religion either, Farmer was a conscientious objector during World War II and worked with the Fellowship of Reconciliation by the early s. Living in Chicago, Illinois, he was also a TV screenwriter and magazine scribe.

Farmer was in a first marriage with Winnie Christie from to '46, and in married Lula A. Petersen, with whom he had two children. Committed to racial harmony, Farmer, his friend George Houser and a multi-racial group of colleagues decided that they would desegregate a Chicago eatery via a sit-in. With Farmer elected national chairman, CORE developed a mostly white North-based membership with various chapters, yet would eventually find itself becoming deeply involved in the South.

Farmer had some periods away from the organization, but with the Civil Rights Movement making headlines with historical rulings and actions, he was elected to become national director of CORE in February Farmer thus became one of the most prominent African-American leaders of the era, joining the ranks of figures like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Farmer worked on launching the Freedom Rides with the intention of challenging segregation on intestate bus travel, which had technically been declared illegal in and which CORE had taken action upon previously.

The Freedom Riders consisted of both women and men, black and white, who traveled on bus routes through Southern states. We need you! Help us build the largest biographies collection on the web! Add a New Bio. James Farmer Parents James L. Farmer, Sr. Powered by CITE. Discuss this James L. Notify me of new comments via email. Commonwealth of VirginiaU.

Virginiainterstate buses enforced segregation below the Mason—Dixon line in Southern states. Gordon Carey proposed the idea of a second Journey of Reconciliation and Farmer jumped at the idea. This time, the group planned to journey through the Deep South. They planned for a mixed-race and -gender group to test segregation on interstate buses. The group would be trained extensively on nonviolent tactics in Washington, D.

They planned to challenge segregated seating in bus stations and lunch rooms as well.

James l farmer jr biography

For overnight stops they planned rallies and support from the black community, and scheduled talks at local churches or colleges. On May 4, the participants began. The trip down through Virginia, the Carolinas and Georgia went smoothly enough. The states knew about the trip and facilities either took down the "Colored" and "White Only" signs, or didn't enforce the segregation laws.

Before the group made it to Alabama, the most dangerous part of the Freedom Ride, Farmer had to return home because his father died. In Alabama, the other riders were severely beaten and abused, narrowly escaping death when their bus was firebombed. With the bus destroyed, they flew to New Orleans instead of finishing the ride. Farmer rejoined the group in Montgomery, Alabama.

Doris Castle persuaded him to get on the bus at the last minute. The Riders were met with severe violence; in Birmingham the sheriff allowed local KKK members several minutes to attack the Riders, badly injuring a photographer. The violent reactions and events attracted national media attention. Their efforts sparked a summer of similar rides by other Civil Rights leaders and thousands of ordinary citizens.

In Jackson, Mississippi, Farmer and the other riders were immediately jailed, but law enforcement prevented violence. The riders followed a "jail no bail" philosophy to try to fill the jails with protesters and attract media attention. From county and town jails, the riders were sent to harsher conditions at Parchman State Penitentiary. The Congress of Racial Equality and segregation and civil rights became national issues.

Farmer became well known as a civil-rights leader. The following year, civil rights groups, supplemented by hundreds of college students from the North, worked with local activists in Mississippi on voter registration and education. A full-scale FBI investigation aided by other law enforcement, found their murdered corpses buried in an earthen dam.

The murders inspired the feature movie, Mississippi Burning. Years later, recalling the event, Farmer said, "Anyone who said he wasn't afraid during the civil rights movement was either a liar or without imagination. I think we were all scared. I was scared all the time. My hand didn't shake but inside I was shaking. InLouisiana state troopers hunted for Farmer door to door for trying to organize protests.

A funeral home director had Farmer play dead in the back of a hearse that carried him along back roads and out of town. He was arrested that August for disturbing the peace. By that time, Congress had passed the Civil Rights Act ofending legal segregation, and the Voting Rights Act ofauthorizing federal enforcement of registration and elections.

He also lectured around the country. InFarmer ran for U. The next year, frustrated by the Washington bureaucracy, Farmer resigned from the position. Farmer retired from politics in but remained active, lecturing and serving on various boards and committees. He was one of the signers of the Humanist Manifesto II in Its vision is a nation in which people live in stably integrated communities, where political and civic power is shared by people of different races and ethnicities.

He led this organization until Farmer was named an honorary vice chairman of the Democratic Socialists of America. He published his autobiography Lay Bare the Heart in Farmer retired from his teaching position in He died on July 9,of complications from diabetes in Fredericksburg, Virginia at the age of Freedom and equality are inherent rights in the United States: therefore, I encourage young people to take on the task by james l farmer jr biography up and speaking out on behalf of people denied those rights.

We have not yet finished the job of making our country whole. Both Houser and Farmer attended. The conference has been preserved on videotape available from Bluffton College. Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read Edit View history. He was exposed to racial discrimination early on in his life when, at the age of three or four, he learnt that he cannot buy Coke at certain stores for being a person of color.

At 10, he witnessed his minister father lie to the station manager to secure a train reservation for his Uncle Fred and his family who had come down to visit from New York. A child prodigy, he became a freshman at Wiley College in at the age of He initially wanted to pursue a career in medicine and earned his Bachelor of Science degree in However, he later decided to follow his father in ministerial work and also earned a Bachelor of Divinity from Howard University School of Religion in At Wiley College, he was selected as part of the debate team and was mentored by Melvin B.

Tolson, a professor of English. During this time, he became anguished over segregation and racism, and had official status as a conscientious objector during World War II. After college, he decided against working in a segregated church and took job with the New York-based pacifist group, Fellowship of Reconciliation, which assigned him to Chicago.

While serving as the race relations secretary of FORhe began to write his 'Provisional Plan for Brotherhood Mobilization', envisioning a movement based on Gandhi's nonviolent principles. He made proposals to FOR leaders suggesting the formation of a committee dedicated to racial equality, which was initially called Committee of Racial Equality and later renamed the Congress of Racial Equality.

He served as the national chairman of CORE from toand again in He also worked as a labor union organizer between andand for the next two years, worked as a program director for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People NAACP. In Februaryhe was called back to CORE, being elected the national director of the organization, and was entrusted with the responsibility of leading the 'freedom ride'.

CORE was inspired to sponsor the freedom rides following several rulings by the Supreme Court declaring segregation unconstitutional in interstate buses and terminals.